Bonjour Talented People-Folk of LinkedIn. We've made it to May!
Over the next 4 Mondays, 'In The Know' (in its LinkedIn form) brings you into a tight huddle to discuss four different topics:
- Talk from the Talent Desk: sharing what we're hearing and what we're discussing. This week's edition below
- People Moves and News: who's hiring who and what should you know about the industry goings on?
- What We're Watching: team TP are obsessed and have eclectic taste. Hear our opinions and recommends
- What We're Doing: industry action and events you need to know about.
And if you fancy it delivered in a oner to your inbox once a month, you can sign up here.
Right - let's get into our senior talent team's take on the last month's chatter in the land of content-making...
Here's what freelancers are saying to us:
- Knocked confidence - "I'm not hearing back about roles I'm more than qualified to do." You are not alone: it is simply the volume of equally as qualified candidates and only one job that's the problem, not you.
- Is the industry picking up? We say: things feel a little more buoyant from where we're sitting, sure. It doesn't feel like a big enough uptick to shout about though.
- Why has this crash in the market happened anyway? Read Kimberly's take on it which rather blew up last week (over 36 reposts, 100+ comments and 25k impressions as we write this).
- Actively taking work outside of TV has been good for the soul (and the bank balance), whether temporary of permanent. We're hearing of government communications roles, teaching, property management. You have so many more transferrable skills than you realise, we promise.
- What's all this LinkedIn malarkey and is it worth it? A resounding YES from team?TP - watch Kimberly's webinar 'Are You LinkedIn-ough?' on the TV Switch Up Facebook group about why it's useful as well as fun, and how to best use it.
What our clients are saying to us:
- 'We're clinging on.' Small indies especially have?skinnied right down to try and ride out the storm, and as such internal teams have extra pressure piled on them.?One MD recently: "I want to be able to reassure people but I can’t. We're just putting one step in front of the other ourselves."
- Channel 5 and UKTV are still commissioning and working collaboratively.
- Branded and digital content budgets are tight but the work is there if you have the relationships.
- It's all about the partnerships. Lucy Pilkington?likens co-pros to dating?(NB this article is behind Broadcast's?paywall)
- We're hearing of companies rejecting ￡5k funded developments, as it's a 'pittance' and costs the company much more to deliver in reality - plus then their idea is locked into a very slow moving process, without being able to pitch elsewhere.
What?team TP are discussing:
- The important of cover notes - with so many applications to look through, a concise and compelling cover is key. Just two or three lines is fine! We appreciate it takes time and you are applying for a lot - but trust us, it could be the clincher.?
- Applications have been overwhelming and we will always do our utmost to get back to you, but?personalised feed back for every person isn't possible (one of our last roles had 300+ applicants). We promise to support you getting feedback if you have an interview, and we will always let you know the outcome of your application in the end. Even if it takes a few days longer than we'd like.
- Interview workshops for interviewers - we're now offering our clients sessions on how to interview better to set candidates up for success, and make the process fairer. We noticed an interesting and strong step from John Lewis and Partners,?publishing all their interview questions pre-meeting - could this ever work in content? Might help if interviewers in TV actually thought about proper questions first, right...?!
- Branded entertainment is exciting territory right now - great article by friend of TP
Claire Prince
at Essence Medicacom - plenty of transferrable skills, with agencies and?prodcos more open to TV?CVs than years gone by. Especially if you adapt your CV?with a focus on handling stakeholder relationships and getting things done on time and budget!
- Excitement about the new season of Colin from Accounts (season one on iPlayer here) dropping at the end of the month! With lots of new characters and a fave comedienne of ours, Celeste Barber. Cannot. Wait.
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